Escalation - Tessa Teevan Page 0,33

get past it. That is, until her smile falters and she takes a deep breath before looking up at me.

“Look, it’s going to take some time to wrap my brain around everything you just told me, and I have a feeling we’ll be discussing this on more than one occasion.” She pauses, leaving me on edge. “But the truth is, I can’t change how I feel, no matter how angry or hurt I may be.”

I hesitantly take a step forward, not wanting to scare her away. My Adam’s apple bobs up and down as I swallow. The way my heart is hammering is unsettling, but I have to know.

“And how is that, Brie? How do you feel?”

It’s probably unfair to ask the question when I won’t even admit what my own feelings are. But she put the bait out there, and I had to take it. She smiles wistfully then crosses her arms over her chest as if to ward off a phantom chill.

“You know, after my parents died, all I wanted was to be with them.”

“Brie,” I interrupt.

She shakes her head and holds a hand up, stopping me. “No, just hear me out,” she requests.

I nod. As she tears her eyes away from mine, she crosses to the window. The bright sunshine covers her body and gives her the warmth I wish she had sought from me. She stares out, her back to me, looking so small, so vulnerable, so fragile. I want to go to her, but I remain fixed in my spot even though it’s killing me not to hold her right now.

“I know we’ve talked about this before, but it’s the truth. The days when I would visit them at the cemetery were the worst. Here lie Andrew and Olivia Latham. Loving parents, all that. They were buried just as they had died: together. And some little part of me felt left out. We were a solid trio, and the fact that I was still here when they weren’t… It was unbearable at times.” A tear trickles down her cheek.

I have the urge to go to her, to wipe it away with a promise that I will always be here to do that. But she needs this, and I’ll give it to her.

“It’s not that I ever tried to actually make it happen. The feeling was just so overwhelming at times. The loneliness and the longing. I was suddenly thrust into a world where I had nothing and no one. And I no longer cared whether I lived or died.”

She pauses but doesn’t look at me. Then she runs her finger along the windowsill before continuing. “But when I was in that trunk and the water started rising, I realized that all of that had changed. More than anything, I wanted to live. I knew it wasn’t my time, and as much as I miss my parents, I wasn’t ready to see them again. As I took my last breath and the water invaded my lungs, I was sure I was a goner. That was it. My life was over before it had even begun. And then, instead of seeing my life flash before my eyes, I saw my future. The one I was destined to have. All the reasons I wasn’t there that night with my parents began to play out in my mind. I saw it all, and it made me fight like hell to survive. It terrifies me that I was almost too late. You…you were almost too late.”

She ends in a whisper, tears falling down her cheeks. My heart constricts as I wonder what she means.

“What did you see, Brie?” I ask, taking a step towards her.

Finally, she turns, and even through the tears, a faint smile plays on her lips. “You, Rafe. I saw you. All I ever see is you.”

I have to touch her. In two quick strides, I’m standing before her, my hands gripping her hips as I gaze down at her. “Tell me you mean it, Brie. That this isn’t just a temporary reprieve. That, tomorrow, after you’ve had time to think, you’re not going to change your mind. That you’re not going to walk away and leave me.”

Fresh tears glisten in her eyes as she places one hand on her belly and the other on my chest, just over my heart. My breath catches, and I cover her hands with mine.

“I have the two most important things in the world right here, Rafe. Why would I ever